July 2001 - Nr. 7
Social Theorist Juergen Habermas to Receive Book Industry Peace Prize
TWIG - Philosopher Juergen Habermas is to receive one of the highest distinctions in German letters this fall. The renowned scholar and social theorist has been selected for the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, presented each year by the Association of German Publishers and Booksellers at the close of the Frankfurt Book Fair.
Habermas was chosen as an author "who has followed the course of the Federal Republic in a spirit that is as critical as it is committed, and who is perceived by readers the world over as the decisive German philosopher of the era," the association announced Thursday (June 7). The decision to honour Habermas received strong support from State Minister for Cultural Affairs Julian Nida-Ruemelin, who is himself a professor of philosophy. "No only has he shaped the interdisciplinary discussion in the social sciences and philosophy for many decades, but by taking a stand he has also shaped the political and cultural development of Germany," said the culture minister.
Born in Düsseldorf in 1929, Habermas is the leading voice of an intellectual tradition developed by the Frankfurt School, a group of social theorists who began taking Marxist thought in new direction in the 1930s. He has played a vital role in German intellectual debate, developing a model for social and political cooperation based on his theories of language and communication. According to philosopher Slavoj Zizek of the Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut Essen, Habermas is a thinker who represents all that is best in the German Enlightenment. He helped guide a generation of intellectuals and activists by calling on industrial societies to move away from their emphasis on material ends and to place greater stress on the principles of freedom and justice. Habermas was in Cambridge, Massachusetts when the selection was announced, where he had been invited to receive an honorary doctorate from Harvard University.
Established in 1950, the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade is awarded annually to an individual whose achievements in literature, scholarship or the arts have furthered the cause of peace in society. Previous recipients include the Algerian writer Assia Djebar (2000) and the American historian Fritz Stern (1999).
